158. As many still are.

Slavery was institutionalized in all ancient agrarian cultures, thus it is not surprising that the Hebrew Bible simply takes it for granted -Unless one believes the work to be that of a god, in which case it is very puzzling,

The Christian New Testament is actually, as I recall, a bit vague on the practice - but certainly never condemns it.

One should read Frederick Douglass's Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass written in 1845 shortly after he escaped from the opportunity of slavery into which he had been born in The Gracious and Christian South. Here is a small excerpt from a section in which he discusses why it was worse to be the slave of a piously religious (Christian) owner, than of a non-religious one:

I have said my master found religious sanction for his cruelty. As an example, I will state one of many facts going to prove the charge. I have seen him tie up a lame young woman, and whip her with a heavy cow skin upon her naked shoulders, causing the warm red blood to drip; and, in justification of the bloody deed, he would quote this passage of Scripture--"He that knoweth his master's will, and doeth it not, shall be beaten with many stripes."

Master would keep this lacerated young, woman tied up in this horrid situation four or five hours at a time. I have known him to tie her up early in the morning, and whip her before breakfast; leave her, go to his store, return at dinner, and whip her again, cutting her in the places already made raw with his cruel lash. The secret of master's cruelty toward "Henny" is found in the fact of her being almost helpless. When quite a child, she fell into the fire, and burned herself horribly. Her hands were so burnt, that she never got the use of them. She could do very little but bear heavy burdens. She was to master a bill of expense; and as he was a mean man, she was a constant offence to him. He seemed desirous of getting the poor girl out of existence. He gave her away once to his sister; but, being a poor gift, she was not disposed to keep her. Finally, my benevolent master, to use his own words, "set her adrift to take care of herself." Here was a recently-converted man, holding on upon the mother, and at the same time turning out her helpless child, to starve and die! Master Thomas was one of the many pious slaveholders who hold slaves for the very charitable purpose of taking care of them.

This is what the grand Battle Flag of The Confederacy represents, and those values sadly are with us still.